Chapter 399
Se-Hoon scoffed upon hearing that the Myers family—the ones who had never taken a step back in the war against the Demon Force before he regressed—were actually the ones behind the creation of Demon’s Edge.
I thought they were a family of master swordsmen. But to think it turned out that they were actually a family of Harbingers of Destruction.
Borrowing the power of the Destroyer of Swords, Aria had become the Destroyer of Light—effectively meaning the Myers had inherited the mantle of another Harbinger of Destruction. That made not just one but two Harbingers of Destruction coming from the same lineage.
Processing the absurd and astonishing truth, Se-Hoon glared coldly at Aaron.
“Why don’t you start explaining? You brought me here for this, so you must have something to say.”
Aaron glanced down at the golden, translucent liquid filling the underground chamber before slowly opening his mouth. “The liquid you’re standing in is a special genetic substance known as the ‘Essence of the Sword.’ It was a gift received by my grandfather, William, from the Seeker.”
William was a hero of the old era who, upon failing to realize his ambition of becoming a Perfect One, had requested the Seeker to alter his bloodline. Aaron went on to explain some of William’s story, much of which matched with what Se-Hoon had previously heard about him.
Then, when Aaron got to around the end of William’s life, the hidden truths finally began surfacing.
“In his later years, my grandfather was in poor health due to age and injuries. Yet even so, he stepped onto the battlefield to uphold his convictions, taking an S-rank demon as his final opponent.”
A textbook example of a noble hero. If the story had ended there, history would likely have remembered him as such.
But alas, William’s tale did not stop there.
“But in its last struggle, the dying demon infused my grandfather with demonic aura to ensure he could never receive treatment. And then...”—Aaron, who had been gazing at the Essence of the Sword, slowly lifted his head to meet Se-Hoon’s eyes—“the Essence of the Sword within him awakened in a new form.”
The Seeker’s creation, the Essence of the Sword, was originally designed to break down William’s synesthetic mindscape to reshape his body naturally into the perfect sword. In a broader sense, the bloodline of the Myers family was gradually transforming into a bioweapon.
But demonic aura corrupted it mid-transformation.
“My grandfather’s right arm fused with the demon’s body, forming a sword of flesh, blood, and bone. That sword... is likely the origin of Demon’s Edge we now know.”
“Then has Demon’s Edge been acting on its own from that moment?”
Aaron shook his head.
“The then-head of the family—my father—severed the arm on the spot, bringing the incident to a temporary close.”
At those words, Se-Hoon realized Aaron was not telling the story of the notorious Demon’s Edge, the one that was a part of the current Ten Evils, but of its predecessor.
And he could already guess what must have happened next.
“The previous head of the family took possession of the sword, didn’t he?”
“That was the natural course of action at the time.”
Amidst the chaos of war, there were no regulations to govern such matters. And even if there were, they hardly functioned properly. When tens of thousands of people were dying each day, who would willingly discard the power born from the fusion of an S-rank hero and a demon?
“Demon’s Edge could only be controlled by those who carried the Essence of the Sword. Naturally, it became a signature weapon for our family. My father used it to exterminate countless demons. But eventually... someone got too greedy and made a mistake.”
Conflicts arising over dangerous weapons were nothing new. Even before the war, such stories had appeared in countless tales. Se-Hoon himself had witnessed, investigated, and resolved similar cases before regressing, allowing him to remain calm.
“Who was it?”
“My uncle: Laurence Myers.”
Despite being the eldest son, Laurence had been denied the succession of the family due to his lack of skill. He felt inferior, and his ambition to resolve it turned into an obsession with Demon’s Edge.
The Demon Force had then taken advantage of that obsession of his, manipulating him into sneaking into the family vault and stealing the sword.
“My father pursued him, but the results were disappointing. Worse, in the process, Origin was damaged.”
Se-Hoon recalled the old, golden sword he had seen at Jake’s succession ceremony during the first semester.
“Then, does that mean Laurence...?”
“Yes. He was the first Demon’s Edge.”
“The first one, huh...”
The way Aaron spoke suggested that the current Demon’s Edge was a different person.
Refraining from saying more, Se-Hoon silently listened to the rest of the story.
“The world believes that Demon’s Edge indiscriminately hunted heroes, but that wasn’t true in the beginning. Back then, it targeted members of our family... specifically those who possessed the Essence of the Sword.”
Currently, the Essence of the Sword was a genetic substance—a type of synesthetic mindscape. By nature, such a thing could no longer be artificially increased once a person reached adulthood. Having become a demon, however, that didn’t apply to Laurence. He could absorb bodies infused with the Essence of the Sword to increase his own power.
“During the war, eighty percent of our family members who died were killed by Demon’s Edge. Their bodies weren’t even left behind, as it absorbed every single bit of them. Then, when it was finally recognized as one of the Ten Evils, my father made a decision.”
Eradication—the Myers family left only a bare minimum of family members at the estate, launching into a full-scale hunt for Demon’s Edge. And at the forefront of was Gilbert Myers, Aaron’s older brother and the strongest candidate to become the family head.
“The strike force lured the monster into a trap and cornered it, nearly killing it.”
They had fought with their lives on the line. Gilbert, having devised a countermeasure against Demon’s Edge, took it head-on. He severed its limbs, beheaded it, and even pierced its heart.
But just as they had become certain it was dead...
Schluck!
A sword extended from the supposedly lifeless corpse, impaling Gilbert.
“What happened afterward... is exactly what you’re imagining right now.”
Severely wounded, Gilbert couldn’t resist the corruption of Demon’s Edge. Like that, he became its new host and turned on his comrades.
Then, after slaughtering nearly half of them, he had suddenly fled.
“Did he... still have some of his sanity at the end?”
“That’s one possibility. After all, aside from Aria, my brother was the closest anyone had come to becoming a Perfect One.”
Aaron’s voice was bitter, recalling the man who should have been standing here instead of him.
“But in the end, he inherited Demon’s Edge.”
Though it no longer hunted members of the Myers family for the Essence of the Sword, it still roamed the world, killing countless people. Entire villages and cities had been wiped out by it before the Pilgrim appeared at the war’s end and established the Pilgrim’s Path.
“...”
Se-Hoon gazed down at the Essence of the Sword swirling around his knees, contemplating the full story that he now knew.
“How many people know?”
“Only the head of the family.”
“Then why didn’t you request help from your family?”
“We feared there might be a traitor within... and also for the honor of the family—”
“Aaron.” Se-Hoon cut him off, staring indifferently. “Don’t give me that nonsense.”
“...”
“If honor really was your true concern, you wouldn’t have dragged me here and poured out this whole story.”
Aaron remained silent, neither affirming nor denying it.
So, Se-Hoon continued instead. “You’ve been hiding the truth all this time, yet you’re spilling everything now, right after asking me to allow you all to go to the frontlines.... You’ve made it obvious what you really want.”
“...”
“You want a member of your family to be the one to kill Demon’s Edge, don’t you?”
Considering Aaron’s willingness to risk the downfall of his entire family by revealing the truth, that had to be the true core of his intentions.
Certain of that fact, Se-Hoon waited for Aaron’s response.
“...Demon’s Edge has completed the Essence of the Sword,” Aaron muttered in an exhausted voice. “It gathered enough Essence of the Sword by hunting our family members, and with my brother’s talent, it finally awakened its full potential. It then stopped hunting us after that.”
“...”
“The realization that the monstrous sword was the first to complete the Essence of the Sword shattered my father’s belief that my brother still had his sanity.”
A monster that had devoured not only his eldest son but countless family members—all to perfect the Essence of the Sword. Overcome with despair, the former head of the family, who had once revered the will of his predecessors and the Essence of the Sword itself, began loathing it.
“After that, my father made the decision to use Demon’s Edge as some sort of family trial to help us transcend our Essence of the Sword.”
“A trial...”
By hunting down Demon’s Edge, which had perfected the Essence of the Sword, they would break past their limits and evolve into something stronger. It sounded ridiculous; transcending their Essence of the Sword, a genetic trait? In reality, however, it wasn’t.
The Essence of the Sword is just a type of synesthetic mindscape too.
The manifestation of a desire to grow by overcoming trials and gaining enlightenment—that was the nature of synesthetic mindscapes. The previous head of the family had definitely come to the same conclusion, which had led to him immediately forming his plan.
But Se-Hoon was not convinced.
“If he truly reached that conclusion on his own, he would have evolved his own Essence of the Sword a long time ago.... He must have heard about it from a Watcher, didn’t he?”
Aaron paused at those words, but then he recovered and answered calmly. “I don’t know. They only ever claimed to have inherited the Seeker’s legacy.”
“Of course they did.”
Having gained confirmation of the connection between the Myers family and Succession, Se-Hoon let out a deep sigh before glancing behind him.
“And what about those corpses?”
“They’re those who lost control after being corrupted by demonic aura—just like the first Demon’s Edge. We brought them here as materials to transcend our Essence of the Sword.”
“That’s disgusting.... Tsk, anything else you guys have been hiding?”
“...I believe I’ve told you everything now.”
Se-Hoon fell quiet, carefully reflecting on everything he had just heard about the Myers family’s dark history.
And at the end of it, the most pressing question came to mind.
“So? What do you want from me?”
Did they want his help in overcoming the trial and evolving the Essence of the Sword?
Aaron remained silent for a moment, staring at Se-Hoon.
“I want you to end it all.”
“...”
“Kill Demon’s Edge and put an end to this murderous cycle. That is my wish.”
A complete reversal compared to how he had once spoken about family traditions to Jake.
Yet, despite the discrepancy, Se-Hoon realized it was Aaron’s genuine desire—one untouched by any restrictions.
“I know I asked you this earlier, but what made you change your mind so suddenly?”
“I’ve been bound by some restrictions, making me unable to reveal the truth to anyone. My only hope until now was for someone else to kill Demon’s Edge.”
Unfortunately, the only ones capable of truly ending it were the Perfect Ones, and none were willing to go out of their way to fight the Ten Evils. Thus, all Aaron could do was cling to tradition, endlessly waiting for the whims of the Perfect Ones.
But then, Se-Hoon had regressed into the world.
“However, with you arriving, the Harbingers of Destruction and the Ten Evils began falling one by one. Even one of the Six Great Demonic Realms has been conquered. Regardless of the opinions of others, I firmly believe that humanity is currently experiencing a golden era.”
“...”
“That’s why I decided to bet everything on this very moment. Because, whether humanity’s peace or destruction lies at the end, it will be by your hands.”
Shing-
Aaron drew his sword from his waist.
Golden mana erupted from his entire body, radiating pure murderous intent, displaying his readiness to strike Se-Hoon down at any moment. But that was merely a means to evade the restrictions placed on him and continue the conversation.
“You asked me why I’m telling you everything now.”
Even if Aaron had kept the family’s dark history hidden, Se-Hoon would have eventually slain Demon’s Edge at some point. The Myers could have kept their nobility without anyone knowing.
Yet Aaron had revealed everything anyway?
“The reason is simple: there’s just no point in hiding it anymore.”
“Why not?”
“If you fail to eliminate the Demon Force, humanity will perish, and the wealth and honor of our family will vanish with it. But if you succeed and a peaceful era begins... we will become the monsters that haunt humanity.”
A cursed inheritance—the Essence of the Sword made the Myers seek dominance over others, longing for battle more than anyone else. And in a world without war, the Myers would become nothing more than warmongers.
Aaron had realized that even within himself, such desires existed. And that had been the trigger for him to resolve to sever the insane cycle.
“So please, destroy the Essence of the Sword here and kill Demon’s Edge. That is my request for you.”
Though his sword was pointed at Se-Hoon, Aaron was fully prepared to turn it on himself at any moment.
Understanding that, Se-Hoon finally felt like he could see Aaron’s true intentions.
So he was prepared to die from the start.
Tell the truth, entrust the task of destroying the Essence of the Sword to Se-Hoon, and then take responsibility as the family head—by dying. That was why he had brought Se-Hoon here.
“You know you’re being ridiculously selfish right now.”
“I’ve already reflected on that. Please, at the very least... for my children...”
There was a bitter acceptance in Aaron’s tone, prepared to leave his final words. But Se-Hoon just waved a hand dismissively.
“Enough. Just attack me already.”
“...What?”
“You gave it your all, but I was too strong. And since I’m offering to help take down Demon’s Edge, you decide to play along and bide your time for another opportunity. That should be enough to bypass the restrictions, don’t you think?”
Knowing that the restrictions placed on Aaron were more focused on the family’s prosperity than absolute secrecy, Se-Hoon guessed that such justification would allow them to sidestep the restrictions.
And if it didn’t? Well, then there was nothing they could do about it.
May as well give it a shot.
Dumbfounded, Aaron just stood there and stared. “What in the world...”
“Well, there aren’t S-rank heroes lying around everywhere. Don’t throw yourself away over something like this. If you’re so desperate to die, do it on the battlefield. That way, at least you’d be of use to me.”
While Aaron’s life had certainly been tragic, Se-Hoon felt neither sympathy nor pity. He simply found it a waste for Aaron to throw his life away meaninglessly—so he offered him a choice.
Ultimately, the decision was Aaron’s to make.
“...”
Aaron’s eyes wavered; it was an unexpected turn of events. And when they settled, his expression turned bitter as he looked at Se-Hoon.
“...I’m sorry.”
“Just come at me already.”
At Se-Hoon’s urging, Aaron pointed his sword at him.
Flash!
A golden blade, wreathed in an aura shaped like a dragon, surged forward. The attack moved faster than sound, parting the golden liquid in the chamber as it shot toward Se-Hoon’s face.
BOOM!
It was a strike carrying the full might of an S-rank hero.
Yet Se-Hoon just watched it, simply standing there.
And then...
Swish-
Everything passed through him. He had cloaked himself in a Veil of Whitespace.
“!!”
Aaron hadn’t expected that even his own sword aura would pass straight through. Shock flickered across his face as he instinctively tried to retreat, looking for another opportunity.
But Se-Hoon moved faster.
With the power of Perception, he seized the ideal opportunity for a counterattack with the Celestial Infinity Blade.
Thud-thud-thud!
“Urgh...?!”
Golden swords of light shot forward, piercing Aaron’s limbs.
Golden Origin, conjured by mimicking the Myers family’s sword aura, disrupted Aaron’s mana flow. Simultaneously, Spirit Weaver had unraveled and started wrapping around his entire body.
Snap!
“W-What... is this...?”
Aaron had barely swung his sword once, yet he had already been subdued. Feeling the insurmountable gap between himself and the young man before him—someone nearly his son’s age—Aaron’s expression blanked.
But then he relaxed, as if relieved, and murmured, “So my choice... was indeed the right one...”
Thud-
Aaron collapsed unconscious, his mind completely overpowered by the Spirit Weaver.
Observing for a moment, Se-Hoon then deactivated his abilities and used Pilgrim’s Prayer to heal Aaron’s wounds.
This should be enough.
If the restrictions still deemed that Aaron had not tried his best and attempted to kill him, then there was nothing more Se-Hoon could do. With Aaron taken care of, he turned his gaze toward the chamber filled with the Essence of the Sword.
Before erasing it, however, he reached out with the power of Boundaries, connecting with the Seeker’s mana and drawing it into his body as a substitute for the Beads of Omniscience in his workshop.
“Huh? What’s going on...?”
Abruptly summoned, the Seeker took a moment to process the information from both Se-Hoon and his surroundings. And once she had, she quickly realized what Se-Hoon was asking.
“I had no idea. It didn’t react to demonic aura during experiments.... Looks like something changed after it entered a living body,” she murmured.
“...I see.”
“You don’t seem convinced. Come on, why would I even bother tampering with this outdated genetic material—”
Whoosh!
Promptly dismissing the Seeker before she could start rambling, Se-Hoon summoned Sacred Flames instead.
Fwoosh!
Immediately, the Essence of the Sword ignited and was consumed by translucent flames. Just like that, the legacy that had sustained the Myers bloodline for decades was evaporating into nihility.
Se-Hoon watched it for a moment, then sent Aaron back to the mansion and stepped outside.
“Phew...”
The white forest was blanketed in untouched snow.
Se-Hoon breathed out a mist into the cold air, steadying his breathing.
“You took longer than I expected.”
And at that moment, a lone girl, glowing with golden light, emerged from within the pure white landscape with a gentle smile.
Aria had arrived.